When i'm in a rut, i just stop trying to make stuff. usually when i try to force myself i just make stuff im dissatisfied with which spirals me further downward. While on my hiatus i usually find myself thinking about things i'd like to make (not specifically ytmnd's but just ideas) and then as i mull them over in my mind i find a few days have passed. Then when i have free time i sit down and try to flesh out some of the ideas. Sometimes i don't make anything at all from these 'ruts' but that's ok.

If you think about it, the internet and pop culture tell us we have to be on the move CONSTANTLY. Fad's come and go, trends fade, WE HAVE TO MAKE OUR MARK QUICKLY, but i think human expression works at its own pace. Whether that pace is fast or slow, it should never be dictated by anyone other than onesself. So take a break, i guess is what i'm saying. We'll probably be here when you get back.

pretty much everything you said was true. i've given up on forcing ideas to mind, that always results in poor work (and poor ratings). this one came to me randomly, on a plane, predictably enough, and i liked the idea, and felt compelled to create it. i'm just dissappointed that the 'good' ideas that come to me spontaneously always fall into the same tired theme. i don't mind so much that i post every other week, i just don't wanna appear to grow that much slower than those who post every other day.

Then it sounds to me like you need to ask yourself why you're here. What you hope to gain, or what you wish to do with this? How do you view your site submissions and how do you view others viewing them? What role do you play and what role do we play? I know it sounds stupid and cheesy, but really what we're talking about is self-expression, YTMND is just a medium, it's not a whole new way of life. As long as you're willing to ask YOURSELF these questions, and take your answers seriously, then you'll...

probably find that rating/votes/views/and site-creation start to blur into one thing. In my opinion, that one thing has always been an overarching sense of self. My sites tend to sit in similar themes or patterns, and from the outside they may seem like they aren't changing, but i do believe they are. I see the changes in my sites, however small they may be, and im sure YOU see changes in your sites that we dont. Just because the overall theme is similar doesn't mean it's the same.

But i digress, because it really seems to me like you just need to ask yourself what your sites mean to you and why you make them. And if that means pulling the plug, then so be it, at least you're being honest with yourself.

i know why i'm here. i've been around the internet a bit, and of all the communities i've seen, this one interests me the most (except maybe /b/). first, i should explain that i treat YTMND as a game. everything can be valued numerically, and these numbers indicate winning or losing. given its scale, the game genre YTMND is most similar to would be MMORPG. but when i play MMOs, i never go for the predetermined 'power builds' that statistically win the fastest.

these, i would see as analogues to fad comps, splicing old fads into the current top rated, or participating in wars. i take the more obscure character classes, crafting classes or supporters, still trying to 'win' as fast as possible, but simultaneously contributing to the whole. sometimes, those game worlds fail if nobody takes these roles. YTMND is different from other games, however, because, in these games, the strength of 'power builds' is a function of constants inside the game design.

the strength of YTMND, on the other hand, is a function of retards, who tend to simultaneously vary both sporadically and predictably (and possibly could be controlled). now that i've made a total nerd of myself, i'll go back to my original problem, my apparent fixation on games (d'oh). reading your comments actually made me feel better. when i look into my catalogue, i can see distinct 'phases' in my development.

i've also deleted a sh*tload of sites (for various reasons), but had i left them, transitions between these phases would be even more obvious. the future looks less bleak to me when i think that while i may not be able to see what's in store for me, two months ago i was equally blind to the present, yet i am quite content with what i currently produce (as cliched as it is).

i was really just throwing a tantrum because i came to the realization that my current video game style could be considered 'pop,' considering the obvious YTMND demographic. as to YTMND being merely a medium, it is also the ruleset to the game which i choose to play, a game which i find to be very addicting. but i may look into other means of expression in the real world. finally, no matter how broken this game may be, i hope i never conform myself to them, i'd rather wait for them to come to me. thanks

That is an interesting point of view, and it just seems to solidify why you choose games as your inspirations INSIDE your sites. And i hope i didn't make it seem like i was devaluing your work because it was pop or otherwise. The important part is just that you're using things you're passionate about. Personally i think these past few sites have been really great, like i said in your wallpaper one, your harmonizing of digital and tangible realities is really a neat idea.